Daiichi stake sale catches HNIs on the wrong foot

Savvy investors are not only restricting their leveraged bets to initial public offerings. According to market players, several high networth investors (HNIs) borrowed money to punt on Sun Pharma after the stock fell nearly 10 per cent, following the $3-billion stake sale by Japan's Daiichi. These investors were betting on an immediate rebound in the stock price after the deal. Though the stock did witness a temporary bounce, it continued to trade weaker on account of the fall in the overall market. The trade wasn't as profitable as hoped, say punters.

Infy's timing stumps analysts

Infosys' numbers weren't the only reason analysts were disappointed on Friday. It was also the lack the time given to them to analyse the numbers. Says one: "While the results announcement ended at around 2.20 pm, the analyst call started by 2.30 pm, giving analysts barely 10 minutes to prepare queries." The stock tanked almost six per cent after its results were announced and was the highest contributor - 123 points - to the Sensex's fall.

Auditing the regulator

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has an internal auditor whose term recently ended but the regulator hasn't settled on a new name. Interestingly, none of the Big Four audit firms is on the shortlist, according to a note on the proceedings of its audit committee. The committee took note of this omission and has asked whole-time member Rajeev Agarwal to look at the policy of appointing internal auditors. The current auditor has expressed willingness to continue.